BUSINESSES STRESS CUSTOMER SERVICE

Today's consumers want it all -- low prices, wide selection, convenient location. For the most part, national chains can provide those things.

Local businesses must compete using customer service done the old-fashioned way.

The Cape Girardeau area has several smaller businesses using hometown friendliness to pull in shoppers that may otherwise go elsewhere. Meyer Supply Co. is one.

Established in 1900, the hardware and plumbing product store on Good Hope Street prides itself on a knowledgeable, large staff to assist customers.

"We want enough people on the floor so that customers don't have to stand around very long," part-owner Dennis Meyer said. "We try to teach our new employees that the customer always comes first. There's nothing as important as waiting on a customer."

New employees also are expected to pick up information about Meyer Supply's products so that shoppers' questions may be answered quickly and correctly.

Meyer said a problem with some retailers is a lack of employees, which leaves customers to search for help instead of being assisted right away. They must go to the service desk or punch a button to get a question answered.

Because of the strong customer service philosophy, Meyer Supply grew last year and the year before. The business has 14 employees in Cape Girardeau and six at its Sikeston store.

"I think the way we treat people has a lot to do with it," Meyer said. "There are other places people can go in town to get the same products we have, so I think service may be a deciding factor."

He added that word-of-mouth advertising by satisfied customers is the best kind of advertising a business can have.

Werner's Market, on the corner of Henderson Avenue and Broadway, uses a delivery service to attract customers. Kenneth Werner's father started the business and its delivery service Dec. 1, 1935, and Werner took it over in 1976.

The grocer said the availability of taxis has hurt his business some, but older customers who have used the business for a number of years keep the store open.

"A smaller store is more friendly," Werner said. "At a big one, unless you know someone at the check-out, you can't get someone to talk to you. Here, things are easier to find and you get more help."

Werner said he and the assistant he employs often bag groceries, take them to customers and then put the items in the refrigerator.

Another family business, Buchheit's in Biehle, has kept a philosophy of old-fashioned customer service even though there are four stores in the company. The home and farm store, founded in 1934, sends out 10 customer surveys each month, obtaining addresses from checks.

"We go the extra mile," store manager Greg Statler said. "Any type of problem the customer has, we make sure it is taken care of quickly. We make sure he is happy and satisfied."

Statler added that delivery of lumber and other supplies to contractors helps business, too.